The desire to attach and detach an accessory or product to a vehicle or structure exists in many different industries. For example, in the marine equipment industry, canvas covers are attached to boats, canvas sun shades are attached to foldable support structures (commonly called biminis), sail systems are attached to booms, and fabric accessories are attached to awnings. Most often, such attachments use mechanical fasteners such as round metal snaps, metal grommets, plastic zippers or sewn pockets that are difficult to install and operate and can also increase the cost of such attachments. Further, the functionality of such attachments degrades over time which can further complicate and frustrate use. Repair and replacement of such attachments can also be difficult and expensive to the extent replacement is possible at all.
One attachment or coupler that has been used to overcome such problems is the use of a keder, usually round in shape, that fits into a track, rail or receptacle. However, such keder and track attachments have not been fully utilized.
Currently, most keder and track attachments require that an end of the keder be inserted into an open end of the track and then the keder is further slid along the length or face of the track until the accessory attached to the keder, e.g. a boat cover, is in place and/or securely attached. The track retains the keder by having a facial opening along a rail of a size and/or shape through which the engagement portion of a keder may not be pulled through, but allows the attachment portion of the keder which is attached to an accessory to be slid. Sliding the keder within the track can cause the material to wear away thus decreasing the life of the product, for example a cover. Further, in applications where the track is very long, the un-inserted potion of the keder may begin to bunch up or get caught at the entry point or end of the track. The keder at the end of the track must then be un-bunched and inserted into the track. The installer may have to walk back and forth between the end of the keder in the track and the un-inserted keder, or even select locations there between, to fully insert the keder. This can be especially problematic if the track has bends or if the track is even slightly damaged or if a boat, for example, is on a trailer or lift. Similarly, to remove the fabric, the keder must be slid back along the length of the track until the end of the keder is withdrawn from the open end of the track.
As such, the current keder and track attachment limits its use to those applications that allow for the keder to be slid along the entire length of the track and where time is not an issue. This is not only limiting, but can also be inconvenient and time consuming.
Therefore, there is a need for an attachment, coupler or mechanism that allows an accessory, such as a fabric cover, to be attached to a rail at any point along the rail quickly and easily. There is also a need for an attachment that has sufficient pull-out resistance and reduces wear to the attachment and accessory.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that one or more aspects of this invention can meet certain objectives, while one or more other aspects can lead to certain other objectives. Other objects, features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in this summary and descriptions of the disclosed embodiment, and will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such objects, features, benefits and advantages will be apparent from the above as taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom.